The combination of heavy snow and traffic could slow down snowplow trucks during the Twin Cities afternoon commute.

"Snow plows can only move as fast as the traffic is moving," Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Gutknecht said Thursday morning. "And if the snow is coming down at a really quick rate, it just makes it that much more of a challenge."

MnDOT expects to send out a full crew of snowplows -- 130 to 180 trucks -- in the metro, he added. The department has more than 800 plow trucks across Minnesota, but most will be needed in the eastern part of the state where the heaviest snowfall is expected.

Forecasts show southeastern Minnesota, including Rochester, could be hit harder than the metro.

BETWEEN NOW AND NOON...LIGHT SNOW WILL END OVER FAR WESTERN MINNESOTA...WEST OF ALEXANDRIA...BENSON...AND MONTEVIDEO.

BETWEEN NOW AND NOON...LOOK FOR PERIODS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW TO DEVELOP WEST OF THE TWIN CITY METRO...OVER THE CENTRAL THIRD OF MINNESOTA...ROUGHLY FROM THE FAR WESTERN TWIN CITY METRO WEST TOWARDS MONTEVIDEO...BENSON AND ALEXANDRIA.

THERE MAY BE ICY ROADS AND SIDEWALKS CAUSED BY SCATTERED SHOWERS OF RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW...THAT ARE MOVING ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST QUARTER OF MINNESOTA...THEN MOVING INTO WESTERN WISCONSIN...ROUGHLY FROM ZUMBROTA AND RED WING MINNESOTA OVER TO ELLSWORTH...MENOMONIE...DURAND...AND CHIPPEWA FALLS. LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED HERE THROUGH NOON.

Craig Edwards reports snow flakes are beginning to fall in Eden Prairie. Waiting for visibility to go down as snow increases in the next two hours.

"Radar and model data suggests moderate to heavy snow will begin to fall around the Twin Cities this afternoon. Snow is likely to continue, heavy at times through 4am Friday. Winds will increase after dark. Be prepared for rapidly deteriorating conditions this afternoon."

Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Chief Executive Officer Michael Goar announced today that the school district has canceled all after-school and evening activities and meetings today due to the winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service.

Minneapolis Kids after-school child care will remain open until 6 p.m. as usual. All adult education and evening Community Education classes are also canceled, along with any activities or meetings scheduled to take place in MPS buildings.

A SURGE OF COLDER AIR BEHIND THE WINTER STORM WILL BRING SUB-ZEROTEMPERATURES FOR LOWS FOR THE END OF THIS WEEK THROUGH THE FIRSTHALF OF NEXT WEEK. WIND CHILL VALUES WILL DROP TO BETWEEN 10DEGREES BELOW ZERO AND 25 DEGREES BELOW ZERO FOR MUCH OF THE AREAFRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

Stuck at your desk and can't see outside? Check out our weathercam here: www.tc.umn.edu To give a little perspective, when the snow is light enough you can see downtown Minneapolis to the right of the towers.